x-massed
by Voodoogator
Summary: snowball
1. Chapter 1

Sneaking across the snow-covered rooftop, careful not to leave any traces, the midnight intruder comes at last to the entryway she hoped would be unused at the moment. She makes her way over to the man-stone structure protruding up for the peak, and sticks her nose to the opening to find it cold... good.

If the humans had left a fire burning, she'd need to find another way inside.

Jumping up onto its conical shaped top, she curls herself around and around… and then, finally, slinked down into the sooty portal. Emerging from the bottom in a cloud of black dust, the little figure coughed uncontrollably. Slapping her clawed hands over her mouth, she attempts not to disturb any of the homes owners as they lay sleeping in their beds, upstairs.

Tiny puffs of smoke burst out from between her fingers as a final cough escapes. Standing frozen, her pointed ears turned and flex... scanning for signs of detection. After a few seconds, she relaxes. A quick shake of her furry body serves to remove most of the filth that still clung to her. Stepping from the hazy cloud, she looked around in wonder at the abode of her unknowing hosts. Everything, it seemed, had been decorated in shimmering hues of green and red. She knew from her previous excursions into their world, that these were the favored colors for the holiday the humans celebrated during the 'Time of Lost Leaves', as her kind called it.

"Strange creatures, humans...", she thought. Although she'd sometimes enjoyed watching them go about their unusual lives, there was much about them she felt she'd never understand. One of those things: was why they felt they had to kill something, in order to be happy. It was to inspect one such object of their sadistic rituals that brought her to this place on this night.

Remembering her mission, the little burglar ran swiftly to the corner of the houses main room, where stood the reason for this hazardous invasion… a small, ornamented tree.

She approached it hesitantly, not entirely sure what would happen if she actually touched anything. All throughout its bushy, emerald limbs hung sparkling ribbons and dandling orbs. Looking closely at one, she saw her own image staring equally wide-eyed back at her. But this version of her was distorted... it looked as if she were trapped inside of the small, shiny ball.

Backing away warily, she gave it a ginger tap with her claw-tip. The swinging motion that resulted caused the 'not-her' to and moved across the colored surface making her seem to grow both taller and wider... then alternately shorter and thinner.

Suddenly frightened that some strange magic would trap her inside one the sparkling prisons, jumped behind a nearby obstacle... something square, covered with a thin surface of colorful skin. Atop it, sat a jumbled nest of some sort. Unsure of what may lay inside, she fought her innate desire to investigate. She was nothing, if not curious.

But her curiousity would have to wait. Again, she cautiously approached the tree. Leaning as close as she dared to the mysteriously festooned plant, she softly whispered into its branches, "Hello...? Drell..., is that you?"


	2. pt 2

After a few moments without a reply, she thought that perhaps this _wasn't_ her friend, after all.

"But that can't be...", she said softy. "I followed the humans here, to this place. If this isn't what they did with Drell.. then where is he?"

Suddenly remembering the cooled pile of ashes she'd fallen into during her entry, she ran over to the stone-hearthed fireplace.

Dread and horror filled her as her mind replayed to her the image of a large, hairy human swinging a shiny 'blade-on-a-stick' over and over again, sinking it into... and splitting in half... piece after piece of a freshly-killed tree. Tossing them into a large pile next to the houses back-wall... and bringing them inside a few at a time. Soon after, smoke began to curl from out of the opening on roof. Her mind also unthankfully supplied smell, to reinforce the image.  
>With a gasp, she quickly snatched a small, uncharred piece of wood from the humans fire-pit. Terrified, she manicly sniffed the blankened-barked twig in her hands.<p>

Her paniuc soon passed, if not her confusion... as not hint of her fellows' scent grazed the blistered wood.

Discarding the unfortunate item, she looked around more carefully this time. Time, she thought... it was running out. She HAD to be gone before the sun returned with the new day. Another search, and then a second, then a thrid... produced no evidence of the being whom she sought. Once again, she stood before the decorated tree. "It HAS to be you...", she spoke into the green-needled branches.

"Please, Drell..." she added pleadingly... "oh, _please_ don't be burned!"

Stretching as high and far as she could manage on her little hind legs, she poked her nose in and out of the tree, randomly... searchingly.

_THERE!_

She'd caught a faint wiff of her freind, she was sure of it! Excitement replaced her growing dispair. She stood to her tallest, peering into the dark green foliage... wondered why her pleas of acknowledgement had gone un-answered. A new fear reached up to grab her...

What if Drell was trapped inside one of the shiny ball-traps?!

That might explain why she could smell him, but no see him. Maybe he could see her.. even _hear_ her calls.. but was unable to cry out for help!

"Oh no!", she whispered.

Franticly, she looked from ball-to-ball... but all she saw was her own distorted face, colored green, and red, and golden... gazing back at her.  
>Unable to think of anything else to do, she started to snatch the wicked orbs from the tree. Perhaps she could shatter them and free her captive friend. Perhaps, the elders could use their magic to undo whatever evil-spell was keeping Drell from returning home.<p>

Looking down at her tiny hands, she thought, "I can't carry all these... I need something to put them in.." A short search later, she returned to the tree carrying a small, red sack... and busily continued gathering the unusual colored globes.

Completely engrossed in the task of attempting to rescue her friend, she never heard the tiny footsteps creeping into the darkened room behind her. Then, to her utter shock, a small, sleepy voice called out in inquiry to her...

_"Santa?"_


End file.
